'There is a whole Eastern European city of half a million people in London. More than 80 per cent have arrived since 2004. It is a city working in basic jobs, with a sprinkling of Russian aristocrats and Bosnian refugees.'

'The Chinese government is destroying the mud-brick maze of traditional Kashgar to cement control over its rebellious Turkic natives. Uighurs are terrified that by mid-century they will have become the Apache or Cherokee of China's Wild West'

'The Tajiks are unnervingly friendly. They take the Islamic injunction of hospitality with grave seriousness. The hungry often sacrifice their only cow for a backpacker with a camera, and the regime has liberally welcomed boots and bases on its soil.'

As part of his research for this month's Dispatch from Siberia, Ben Judah interviewed Anton Surikov, a member of Russian military intelligence. It was Surikov's last interview for the western media - he died two months later in mysterious circumstances

‘When I finally reached Magadan, I hunted for days for a survivor. "I'm sorry, they are all dead," was the refrain. With male life-expectancy in Russia a mere 58, I should not have been surprised, but I was devastated’

Ben Judah is the author of Fragile Empire: How Russian Fell In And Out Of Love With Vladimir Putin (Yale). He is a visiting fellow at the European Stability Initiative. A collection of his journalism for Standpoint, The Yeti Hunts: Travels Through Russia and Central Asia, is available as an ebook.